You'll Be Remembered
by darkenpieta
Summary: The end of Garak's exile is bittersweet. Cardassia lies in ruins after the Dominion War and there is someone missing from his side. Can a late-night visit from Q change the course of his life? Eventual Garak/Ziyal Story inspired by a snippet of Una McCormack's The Crimson Shadow.
1. Chapter 1

With a little time now on his hands, and feeling a need to be soothed, Garak turned his attention to the parcel in front of him on the desk. Slowly, with great care, Garak began to remove the packaging. Eventually, the contents were revealed. He raised it in front of him at arm's length to admire it: an abstract painting, combining elements of Cardassian and Bajoran design, created by a young woman at the start of a promising career. In the bottom left-hand corner, a single initial acted as the artist's signature: Z. Tora Ziyal had painted this. It was the only relic of her that Garak possessed, and it traveled with him between Earth and Cardassia Prime every time he made the journey.

With a sigh, Garak stood up from his chair and, carrying the painting carefully between both hands, went over to the wall opposite his desk. There, in a little alcove, stood a small table upon which, at his instruction, there was a vase of freshly cut perek flowers, scarlet bright. Leaning over the table, Garak hung the painting on the wall. Sitting at his desk, he would be able to look up and see it, and take courage from it. He stood for a while studying it. Focusing on the detail, he picked out delicate meya lilies, and mekla, and long winding elta, and copper ithian leaves, narrow and elegant. There were Edosian orchids too, for him, and from Bajor there were lilacs for Colonel Kira, and leaves from the moba tree, and spiny twists of basil. When Garak moved his head back to capture the whole, the intricate pattern of flowers and leaves swirled and intertwined.

"You're remembered," he said to her, as he did every time he performed this quiet ceremony. He often talked to Ziyal. "As long as I live, you'll be remembered."

"Right that's enough of that. I expect this kind of sappy sentiment from the humans but the Cardassians? No, no, no you're better than that."

Garak still looking at the cherished painting, reluctantly broke out of his reverie at the intrusion.

"I mean really, has the multiverse gone mad? Have the Klingons started playing chess with the Romulans? Have the Ferengi dedicated themselves to missionary work?" Q paused dramatically, "Have the Humans brought back shoes and sandals?"

Had he been a younger man, Elim Garak would have already found dozens of ways to deal with this intruder. Now that he was older and wiser, he found the figure before him intriguing. He played along, what else?

"I'm afraid we haven't been formally introduced. Who are you?"

"Moi? I go by many names but you can call me Q, big fan by the way." Q over-dramatically grabbed the Castellan's hand and shook it vigourously.

"It must be difficult to catch the attention of a superior being such as yourself. I'm flattered." Replied a puzzled Garak.

"As you should be. Yes, your life has been most entertaining. From spy to exile to the most powerful man in Cardassia. Well done."

"Thank you." he nodded, his blue eyes never moving from Q's own.

"Although I must say your 7-year stint as tailor was a bit tedious, but nevertheless." he paused pensively, "And, I do love that I'm getting the respect I deserve from you mortals. Your new friend Jean-Luc could learn a few things from you, Cardassian."

"My new friend…you mean Captain Picard."

"Yes, the very same. He certainly upholds the French stereotype. You know what I mean."

"I'm afraid I don't…"

"Come now, you used to live in Paris. Let's just say he's stuffy. In fact…" With a click of the fingers, Garak saw Picard materialize before his eyes dressed in his Federation-issued pyjamas and he seemed to hover slightly above the ground, bed-height, until he fell unceremoniously to the floor. Q could have easily prevented the fall but Garak got the feeling he wasn't that kind of person.

He was starting to acclimatized to his surroundings until his eyes trained onto the omnipotent jester's grin above him.

"Q!" Picard boomed. "What are you doing here? What am I doing here?"

"Patience, mon Capitaine. I brought you here to show you how to treat a Q properly."

"What are you talking about…" He looked behind him and took notice of the Cardassian, "Castellan?"

"Hello, Captain, it's nice to see you again and please it's just plain and simple Garak. I have just been making an acquaintance with your… friend."

"He is not my friend." Picard replied instinctively.

Garak didn't know either of them well but it became startlingly evident to him that the Captain was not going to be in the mood for Q's antics. Regardless of the late hour.

Q looked towards the Castellan and pointed towards Picard.

"You see how he speaks to me? Honestly, the nerve."

As per usual Picard decided to completely ignore the all-powerful presence and focused on Garak who was smiling at the back-and-forth between his two late-night guests.

"We've not known each other long Caste- Garak, but you must trust me when I say this man is deceitful and contemptible and won't stop until he submits you to play ridiculous games for his own twisted sense of entertainment." The Captain's voice grew to crescendo, "You must not accept anything he offers you!"

"Do not fret Captain, while I don't doubt your advice I have to say this, Q has been nothing but courteous to me and has made no such offers as those you have suggested."

"But he will and when he does…" Picard began only to be interjected with a click of the fingers and another flash of light. The Captain was gone.

"Right that's enough of that. I'm not sure he's learnt a thing." Q said, deflated.

"I'm afraid I'm agree with the Captain Q. It was very nice to meet you but I am happy as I am here. You, of all people, must know how much I've yearned to come back home and how long I've waited. I just can't imagine you offering anything else."

"What if…" Q moved closer to the Cardassian. "What if I made you an offer you can't refuse?"

Garak paused to think. Q's intention seemed glaringly obvious now. He started by talking about sentimentality…

"Ziyal." His voice was lost in his throat.

Q smiled, "Well done Cardassian, you catch on quick, well in a toddler learning to walk sort of way. She's been dead for over 10 years, you really need to get over her. Find a new gal. I hear Cardassians like a man with power. You know, with life-spans the way they are these days, you're not even that old anymore. What is age anyway? Just a number…"

Garak let Q ramble on, he wasn't listening anyway. He started to feel the wave of emotion he had tried to suppress since that day he returned to Deep Space 9.

 **A/N: the italics at the beginning are a snippet from Una McCormack's The Crimson Shadow. The snippet from the book is taken out of context of the rest of the book. Garak becomes Castellan later in the book but I've taken a part from chapter 2. Also Cardassian Embassy is on Paris and Garak was exiled there (again!) as ambassador in The Never Ending Sacrifice. Please r &r if you like...and if you don't like so i can improve :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I figured this story is going to have the main storyline with Q as well as flashbacks that give more depth to the Garak and Ziyal scenes from the series. This one is set during 6x06.**

The characteristic rolling cog doors of Deep Space Nine opened to reveal the heroes of the U.S.S. Defiant.

Friends and family surrounded the crew and each officer was picked off one by one. Bajorans gazed at the Emissary with more love than ever before, grateful that he had freed them from the returned tyranny of the Cardassians. Eventhough they were working in the shadow of the Dominion, it reminded them a little too much of the Occupation. There were smiles and good cheer all around with the exception of one man.

Garak all but ignored the praise of the people who once feared and hated his presence on the station. He didn't seem to care about the acceptance he had gained for all but betraying his own people by helping the Federation. Garak moved quickly and purposefully through the crowd with only one objective in mind.

He sensed something was wrong as soon as he stepped onto the station. Although he wasn't thrilled by Ziyal's misguided affection for him, he nevertheless found himself dependant on her devotion. Her devotion to him never wavered and it was something he could never doubt as much as he tried.

She should be here. She's always here. This is a big event. Why isn't she here?

He couldn't make sense of it. Until that is, he heard where the Major was.

It was a rule as part of Garak's personal characterisation of himself as an enigmatic figure never to run. Being in a rush or giving away any signs of panic could suggest to someone that he doesn't have complete control of the situation. Incomplete control meant a weakness. And a weakness is something Garak could never afford.

On this occasion he let the façade slip and all but bolted toward the infirmary, making sure as few people saw him as possible of course. He slowed as he approached the door and glided into the room. He tried his hardest to keep his enigmatic expression as he saw the Major standing over one of the biobeds. Walking further towards what he realised was Ziyal's body made his expression falter.

Kira was the first to speak.

"She loved you." Her tone was equal parts unassuming, sympathetic and imploring.

As per usual Garak let his silver tongue hide his true emotions.

"I could never figure out why. I guess I never will."

Another half-truth.

Ziyal had on many occasion described and explained to him, the traits that made him so endearing to her. Yet the truth was he still believed she was hopelessly misguided in her ways. After all wasn't it was her ideals that got her here in the first place?

Ziyal never truly learnt enough about him to make the correct judgement and he would have never divulged enough about himself for her to do so. It was one of the few things they would often argue about. Garak always insisted she didn't know enough about his past but when Ziyal pointed out that it was his fault, he could only say that she shouldn't know anyway. Garak knew that the constant mistreatment she had been dealt in her life had made her cling on to anyone who was nice to her even if that included an absent father who tried to kill her, a terrorist who tried to kill said father and a former spy who had tortured and killed said father's father.

Garak cared for her more than he could admit. Despite this he was absolutely certain that he did not love her in the same way she claimed to love him. But this unwavering conviction came from his uncertainty of what love really felt like. Instead, for his frame of reference, he went for the Vulcan-like approach and looked at the facts. Firstly, he was too old for her and secondly, he was her family's enemy. There was no need for a third reason. The rules of Cardassian society told him everything he needed to know.

The sound of the Major, annoyed with his reply, leaving the infirmary brought him back from his train of thought.

He walked slowly to Ziyal's bedside, noticing that even in death, her face seemed carefree. He grabbed a stool close by and sat at the side of the biobed. He took hold of one of her cold hands in both of his and began:

"What a waste." He said out loud, naively hoping that she was listening. "It would seem that the universe has dealt you a poor hand yet again my dear."

He bowed his head and leaned closer. He needed to pause before he could continue.

"I have no doubt that if you were here right you would take death in your stride like you've taken slave encampment and unwitting exile from 2 planets. I almost wish you were here to tell me how death is just another chapter of life or something equally sickeningly optimistic." He smiled gently at the thought. "I could do with some of your endless optimism right about now."

"You know, we can never return to Cardassia together to see it free from prejudice as we always talked about." He reached up to push back an errant strand of hair. "I would have enjoyed that."

He gently patted her lifeless hand and replaced it where he found it on the biobed.

"At least in death you can never be mistreated by fate again."

He looked at her face for a brief moment as if to imprint the image onto his memory. He closed his eyes, stood up and turned around.

"Sleep well Ziyal."

He replaced the stool he was sitting on and exited the infirmary. He almost stopped in his tracks as he saw the Major waiting outside, instead he quickly changed his now maudlin frown to his default pleasant smile and nodded to her as he left.

 **This one was a bit angsty but it's gonna be balanced with some Q later. Please r &r**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for slow updates. I rewrote this one loads of times, there are just too many story possibilities when Q is around. Enjoy.**

"-are you even listening to me?" An annoyed Q was standing over Garak with his arms on his hips like an attention-starved child. Garak, who's eyes had glazed slightly with reminiscence snapped away from the painting and locked onto Q's as he remembered where he was.

"My apologies I'm afraid I was somewhere else for a moment." Garak said pleasantly.

"You should be sorry, I'll have you know more powerful people than you have given up bars of latinum for some of my time." After giving a not very intimidating stare at Garak, he continued, "As I was saying, you were looking quite glum these days and seeing as you're my favorite spy, I thought bringing back your lady friend Ziyal might cheer you up a bit."

"Well that's a very generous of Q. Unfortunately, I have to decline."

There was a slight pause. Q looked at Garak expectantly.

"Well?" Q sounding even more impatient.

"Well what?" replied an innocent sounding Garak.

"Is there any particular reason why you would decline my offer? Or is it something you always do when given a once in a lifetime opportunity from a godlike being."

"Well, as an ex-agent of the Obsidian Order I have learnt never to accept any sort of gift or offer or bribe-"

"Don't flatter yourself, Cardassian. You can't be afraid of being indebted to me. You couldn't possibly hope to owe me anything. I have everything."

"So am I to assume you want to bring back to life Ziyal out of the kindness of your heart?" Garak used his characteristic imploring tone of voice.

"Is that so hard to believe?" Q asked with mock indignation. "You've barely known me an hour and you're already making assumptions about me. Have the Captain's misguided words about me affected your opinion? I'll have you know I have shown him nothing but selflessness. Is it my fault the Captain is too shortsighted to see the value in my gifts? You know the Starfleet type. Nothing but pretentious idiots with an unscalable moral high ground. I have it on good authority that you Cardassians are much smarter. Always ready to seek personal advantages."

"While that may be true, I must still decline."

"But why?" exaggerated Q.

Garak paused thoughtfully for a moment

"Because I don't want her to see Cardassia like this." he said quietly and for the first time in his life, truthfully.

Although he knew that lying to an omnipotent being like Q would be an exercise in futility, it wouldn't have stopped him before. Age and his new life had worn him down.

"We always talked about returning to Cardassia together and how great it would be. She deserves better than what's here."

Garak always knew that the conditions of his return from exile would not be idyllic, otherwise he would not be able to return in the first place. What he couldn't be prepared for was what he faced now.

He had the mammoth task of bringing back Cardassia from war-torn ruin and hopefully regaining some of state's dignity along the way. The rebellion led by the unfortunate Damar was thought of at the time as an unequivocal success but the death and destruction caused by the Dominion left citizens to question whether it was a good idea to side with the Federation. The Dominion were ruthless in their handling of the rebellion. There were mass public executions in Victory Square and they purposely positioned innocent citizens in military bases to try and prevent terrorist attacks. They systematically tried to destroy the culture of the civilisation by demolishing monuments and the unique buildings that made Cardassian culture so distinctive. Where once stood grand architecture worthy of study throughout the quadrant now stands dull grey federation shelters. Thousands were built in a rush to house refugees of Dominion attacks.

Since the end of the war, the only way the Cardassians could survive was with the charity of the Federation. The downside was that the constant presence of the Federation and Starfleet just made the Cardassian people more divided. Garak's love for his home made him resent his current position. He didn't feel like he had returned home. He felt the universe laughing at him. Q understated Garak's disposition with "a bit glum". He was miserable and he didn't want Ziyal to see him fail to rebuild Cardassia.

Garak waited for Q to mock his sentimentality as he did so when he first spoke to him. Instead Q's tone wasn't mocking but enigmatic.

"Perhaps something else can be arranged." He snapped his fingers with his usual flourish and with that Garak saw his office disappear.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry this one took so long but it's a lot longer. Please r &r.**

At the click of Q's fingers the view of the banality of his office was immediately replaced by a vivid wash of flashing colours and a sea of people. A cacophony of noise surrounded him, and he could feel unbearably loud music pulsing through him.

It was obvious that this place was not the best place for his claustrophobia.

He felt panic starting to set in as he hurriedly waded through the crowds, bumping into drunken aliens of species he had never even seen before and barely clad waitresses carrying all kinds of drinks. He eventually managed to reach an unoccupied space and all but jumped into it, landing inelegantly onto the floor. Garak could care less what he looked like at that moment for he could already feel his head clearing from panic. For the few seconds he stayed on the floor to catch his breath, he heard the clamour start to die away. Tentatively, he lifted his head only to be met with the eyes of none other than a crouched Q.

Of course, in the claustrophobia induced panic he forgot who he was dealing with. Q was dressed much like the patrons of this club. Though Garak was an ex-tailor he could still tell Q did not suit leather and he wasn't a fan of the mocking expression on his face either. He looked behind him to see why there was no more noise and saw that the crowd had frozen, quite eerily, in position. Facing Q again, he lifted himself up, dusted himself off and said simply,

"I'm not entirely sure you brought me to the right place."

Now upright Q began, with emotive gestures. "Of course I brought you to the right place, I mean really. I'm a Q after all. Omnipotent, infallible and dreadfully handsome. Do you think it is likely that I would make a mistake?"

"What I mean to say is that all of this doesn't seem relevant to our previous discussion."

"Who said this wasn't relevant? Besides, you should be enjoying yourself instead of running around like a lost child. Such a killjoy."

"I fail to see how any of this," he turned around to the crowd and turned back for emphasis, "is relevant."

"That's because your small mind is only capable of limited imagination."

Garak didn't seem offended at the insult.

"Let's just say this will be preparation for the adventures ahead of you today. In the mean time, relax, let me make you a cocktail."

He clicked his fingers and replaced the bartender, shaker in hand.

"Perhaps I'll enjoy myself more if I knew where I am." Garak interjected.

"Interesting." Q poured himself a multi-coloured drink, "Do you want to know where you are? Or where this is? They're two very different questions and I wouldn't want your puny little mind getting confused."

"Can't I ask both?"

Q shrugged.

"Where is this?"

"Some bar in the Gamma Quadrant. But that's not really relevant."

"So, where are we?"

"Ah that's the good question," he beamed a great smile, "I'll give you a big hint." Q appeared in front of him and leaned forward. "Where do you think you are?"

It didn't the long for the penny to drop

"We're on DS9. Computer, end program."

With two beeps from the computer everything disappeared to leave the black and yellow grid lines.

"Computer, what is today's Stardate?"

51174.2

Q gave a mischievous grin, "I think you meant Terok Nor."

* * *

Quark was getting sick of the Cardassians. Sure they didn't cause as much trouble as the Klingons or spread uncalled for righteousness like the humons but they were just so boring.

"What drink would you like?"

"A glass of kanar."

It's always kanar.

"What's new?"

"We're going to take the alpha quadrant any day now."

Great.

Quark knew that above all he was a people person, but he just needed different people. He'd tolerated the Cardassians before but that was before he was too used to the Federation.

And what was wrong with that? Nothing.

Sure their optimism and heroism was annoying and they had poor taste in drinks but at least they weren't psychotic. Not like Dukat and his cronies. More still, he was starting to get worried for fate of the quadrant.

Will I have to live with this boredom for the rest of my life if what that idiot Dukat says comes true?

He, of course, wouldn't admit these thoughts to Leeta or Rom or anyone else. He didn't want to give them the idea that he wanted to help otherwise they'd start asking for favours. And what good would that do for business.

Today, as any other day, began the same way. The first thing he did was go to the Cargobay to fetch some more cases of kanar. He would usually get one of his overpaid employees to go get it but he felt the need to keep his lobes open for any developments about the war. Afraid of looking charitable, however, Quark gave his employees the job of giving the bar a good spring-cleaning which they started very early this morning. His exact words to them were,

"I want to be able to see my face in those dabo tables."

In Cargobay 3 he found the gossip he wanted, but it didn't sound good. He took his time loading his gravitrolley with the cases of '28 Kanar as he listened intently to the to the whispering Cardassian guards.

Having big lobes isn't just good for the females thought Quark.

"Have you heard yet?" said the first one.

"What?" replied the second.

"Dukat says that we're going to take the Alpha quadrant in less than two days."

"He's said that many times before."

"It sounds pretty real this time round though."

"Oh yeah, why's that then?"

"They've found a way to deactivate the mine field so the Gamma quadrant Jem'Hadar can come through. We're already outnumbering the federation forces four to one. We've won this."

"Don't be so sure."

"Why are you always so negative, Metok? Look at the odds. We can't lose."

"I don't know. Maybe you're right, but I just don't trust Dukat's judgement. He's more concerned with how people see him than what's actually important. Why does he spend so much time with that Bajoran anyway, she's tried to kill him enough times during the Occupation."

"I think you know why he's spending time with her. Come to think of it I wouldn't mind spending a bit of time with her or maybe even Dukat's half-breed daughter."

"As though Dukat would let you anywhere near her."

"Well it's not like I have stiff competition. I think I could take on a disgraced tailor- What are looking at Ferengi?"

Quark jumped slightly at the Cardassian's barking tone. He didn't realise his subtle eavesdropping was becoming less and less subtle after he had finished loading his gravitrolley.

"Nothing." Quark quickly replied. "I wasn't looking at anything."

"Well be on your way." said the first Cardassian, sounding not entirely convinced.

Quark didn't need telling twice, and he hurriedly exited the bay with more than he came for. Thoughts flew through his mind as he walked back to his bar. He couldn't believe they had already figured out how to deactivate the minefield. Although, what was more unbelievable was that the mines lasted so long in the first place.

After all it was Rom's design thought Quark. I should probably tell Rom when I get back. What good will that do anyway? It's not like we have anyone to stop them. Leeta and Rom would be useless in this situation and Jake would just write a news article about it. That would just leave Major Kira, and she's just a female.

We're doomed whether or not I tell someone. Telling them would probably mean they'll mount some sort of suicidal mission and get me to join in. No thank you. Our only hope is that the mines Rom made hold up against whatever their plan is. God help us.

He shook the train of thought out of his head when he got back to the bar, kanar in tow. He looked at the clock and saw that he had time before the bar had to open. He took the liberty of counting his profits for the week to lift his spirits a bit. Only 2 bars and 7 strips not including the dabo tables and it's already nearing the end of the week. Quark knew he couldn't charge more for kanar because that would be bad for business, no one would buy it knowing that it was overpriced. He sighed and went about changing the labels of a few bottles. The '26 vintage is worth almost twice the '28.

The time was 0900 hours and he was about to open the bar when he saw something odd on his electronic security screen. Two red lights and one green. A Holosuite programme was running. Quark was sure that he turned them all off yesterday.

"Rom? Rom!" Quark yelled still looking at the screen.

Rom was put down the bar glass that he was cleaning and obediently moved to Quarks side.

"Er, yes brother? What you looking at?"

"Rom, you idiot were you using my holosuites again, I know your my brother but this is going to cost you."

"Er, it wasn't me brother. I was cleaning the tables all morning like you told me to."

"Fine you can pay me back at a small discount."

"Buuut that's not fair Quark."

"Life's not fair Rom, deal with it. I need to open the bar it's 09:01 now, time is profit and that minute is coming out of your pocket." The screen flickered and the green light turned red.

"That's odd it's turned off again. Go see what's happening in there, the screen's probably broken."

"Er, what if it's a ghost?" Quark gave him the look that suggested it wouldn't be. "I-I mean yes brother."

Rom scuttled off and Quark shook his head. He walked over to the elaborate gold doors of his bar and placed in his fingerprint to the biometric scanner and the doors slid open. He noticed that there were customers already waiting outside. That's unusual, thought Quark, perhaps this will shape up to be a good day after all. Morn, of course, was first in and he perched himself on his seat. What was unexpected were the people behind him.

"Come in, come in what can I get for you gentleman. An Alderbaran whisky perhaps or a Romulan ale." Quark said with obvious sarcasm.

"Actually," replied Dukat and his band of merry lookalikes, dressed in stiff military garb. "We would like you to play this."

He offered him a translucent red data rod.

"Of course, of course anything for the commander of this station. Can I ask what it is?"

"You talk too much Ferengi. But if you must know it is a battle simulator for my crew. This rod contains three battle scenarios I want you to play each one in your holosuites. I need my men prepped for whatever Sisko is planning."

Quark swallowed, just what he was afraid of. Not wanting to have an even more annoyed Dukat on his hands, he put the crystal into the terminal. He extended an arm towards the stairs.

"Right this way gentleman."

* * *

Rom lumbered up the stairs towards Holosuite 1, mumbling.

"Stupid Quark. Always telling me what to do."

The panel outside the Holosuite didn't seem to be working properly either. Under occupancy was the number 1.

That can't be right, there shouldn't be anyone else in here.

He walked inside slowly, "He-hello is there anyone in there?"

Without warning an arm snaked around his neck tight knocking the balance from his feet. He tried yelling for help only to be stopped by a hand over his mouth.

"Shh, Rom." said the voice behind him, "It's me, Garak."

"G-garak?" muffled Rom.

"Yes, I'm going to let go now. Please, try your best not to alert any of my enemies to my presence." said Garak sardonically.

Slowly, Garak released his hold on the Ferengi. A slightly shaken Rom turned to meet Garak and rubbed his neck.

"Ow."

"I'm sorry Rom, but men in my situation need to take certain precautions. I didn't know it was you."

"Uh that's ok. Shouldn't you be on the Defiant?"

"I've had an unfortunate and sudden change in circumstances recently. I understand why that may seem odd but there's no time to go into detail now. I need your help to avoid getting executed by Dukat."

"You need my help! I'm not sure what good I can do."

"Now Rom, you need more confidence in yourself. We can work on that later too. First things first, I need to leave this Holosuite, is the bar empty?"

"Er, it was when I came in. Quark's probably only just opened the door there shouldn't be many customers yet."

"That's good, I don't suppose you could check first."

"Yes, yes of course." Rom took one step out of the sliding doors and almost immediately stepped back again.

"Uh oh." Rom started to get quite agitated. His agitation came with complementary squeaking.

"Are there Cardassians in the bar?"

"Not just Cardassians. Dukat!" squealed Rom. "And what looks like an army. They're walking towards the stairs. Oh no they know you're here, they're coming after you!"

"Calm down Rom, they don't know I'm here and they won't know unless you start keeping your voice down."

"But how can you be sure?"

"I am sure. Now what I need you to do is tell them that this Holosuite is broken. Convince them not to come in."

"I can't do it! I'm not good at lying especially not to Dukat. He'll know."

"You must try Rom, unless you can find another way out."

"No there's no way out," Rom replied deflatedly, "the Holosuites have to be sealed rooms."

"In that case do your best and just remember I won't blame you if I get caught. But let's hope it doesn't come to that."

Knowing this Rom gained a small amount of confidence and strode out of the Holosuite. This confidence when he almost walked into Dukat.

"You can't go in there!" yelped a panicking Rom.

"Don't be ridiculous Rom. Of course he can." Quark said nervously. Then mouthed very obviously, what are you doing, it's gul Dukat.

"I know who he is brother, but he can't go in."

"Why ever not Ferengi?" asked Dukat, in his slimy tone.

"Yeah, why not Rom?"

"There's a err-radiation leak!"

"It seems fine to me. You were just in there after all." Dukat said suspiciously.

"I need a word with Quark." Rom replied hurriedly.

Dukat gave an annoyed shrug and turned around to talk to his men. Rom then quickly leaned towards Quark and cupped his hand over his ear and whispered,

"Garak's in there."

Quark's face dropped.

"What?"

"Garak's in there!"

"I know, I heard what you said!" Quark sighed loudly, "Let me handle this."

"What's the up with the delay Ferengi?"

"I'm afraid the photonic emitters in Holosuite 1 are broken and emitting radiation."

Dukat didn't look happy at the news.

"But I'm happy to give you the other two suites for the whole free of charge or maybe at a 10% discount."

"Fine, but get it fixed by tomorrow I need my men prepared." Dukat replied gruffly.

"I promise it'll be done by tomorrow."

Dukat snorted and signalled to his men to go into the suites, shortly following them. As soon as they were out of view Quark rushed towards Holosuite 1 only to be stopped by someone grabbing his arm.

It was only Rom.

"What are you doing?"

Not bothering to explain, Rom cautiously stepped towards the door just enough for it to open.

"Garak? It's only me and Quark. Please don't hurt us." called Rom.

Shaking his head at his brother, Quark continued to stride in only to yelp in surprise as Garak came from what looked like nowhere.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to startle you."

"No Garak, you didn't startle me, you just scared the life out of me."

"Can I assume my old friend Dukat won't be joining us today?"

"I hope not, I don't have the stomach for a public execution."

"In that case, can you lead the way out? I don't think being in a room without an exit is much use to me."

Cautiously, Quark walked outside gave a sweep of his bar only to see Morn leaning over the bar, trying to steal a bottle of Lissepian whisky. He gave the all-clear sign to Rom and Garak and they moved quickly behind the bar.

"What are you doing here anyway? I thought you were on the Defiant." Quark inquired, snatching the bottle back from Morn and pouring it into a glass.

"I didn't like spending time with the Klingons, so I thought I'd visit my 2 favorite Ferengis."

At this comment Rom started grinning like an idiot, only to be hit on the arm by Quark.

"What's the real reason?"

"It's nothing to bore you with. Besides we have more important things to be worried about. I'm not sure if you know yet but the Cardassians have come up with a way to deactivate the mines."

"Uh oh."

"Yes exactly, I need to send a message to the Defiant and try and think of a way to stop the deactivation. So if you don't mind I will have to use your communications terminal."

A non-committal shrug from Quark meant Garak almost immediately prised the bar's communication relay and started tugging at the wires.

"Rom, would you mind opening the hatch to the Jeffries tube in case I need to make a quick escape."

"S-sure." Rom grabbed his toolbox from behind the counter and started to budge the self-sealing stem bolts. "Sooo what are we going to do if the Defiant don't get here on time?"

"I suggest we employ the Major's specialist set of skills and try and sabotage the station's computer. That and anything else that can buy us time."

Looking satisfied with his work, Garak closed the terminal.

"Aren't you worried the Dominion are going to pick up on your transmission?" Quark asked.

"Not particularly, to them this message will look like nothing but background radiation. I wrote this code personally with the head of the Obsidian Order." Garak said with a hint of pride

"How will the Defiant pick up on it then?"

"That is the part I am worried about. I had planned to install an algorithm on the Defiant that could decode transmissions such as these but I'm not sure I've done it yet."

"How could you not know if you'd done it?"

"It's a long story and we have little time." He turned to Rom who had just opened the entrance to the Jefferies tubes. "I don't suppose an engineer such as yourself will have a blueprint to the Jeffries tubes I can use."

"I only have one copy."

"I assure you that I will return it."

"Er ok." Rom dug through his messy toolbox. "It should be in here somewhere. Ah here it is."

Rom pulled out a slightly battered PADD and handed it to Garak.

"Thank you. Gentleman, I think I'll be on my way now. I will be back when I've finalised a plan."

"We'll look forward to it." said Quark sarcastically. "Although, please don't factor me in to this plan of yours. I'm not feeling suicidal."

"As you wish." Garak nodded.

Not wanting to look too foolish, Garak quickly entered the tube but not before taking a deep breath. Admittedly, these tubes were larger than he thought, but not by much.

I'm not going to enjoy this.


	5. Chapter 5

Since his return to Cardassia, Garak had not felt the need to be enclosed in a small space. In fact the demolished buildings made Cardassia quite spacious. He'd hate to admit it out loud but Q's holosuite program did actually help the transition to his current situation.

His current godforsaken situation.

He couldn't help but think back to his time in internment camp 371. The circumstances weren't too dissimilar. He never thought he would be in a situation again where the fate of the people around him would be determined by how long he could last in a confined space. It was as if the universe having fun at his expense again.

One defining difference between this Jeffries tube and that alcove was that he on the meteor he was allowed a break every half an hour as per doctor's orders. If he had a break now then he would probably be killed on sight.

 _A good incentive to carry on as any_ mused Garak.

On that rock, years ago, Tain passed away. He was one of the few people Garak ever cared about and he'd be damned if he lost another today. Garak had been crawling the tubes for what felt like hours. He wished Q had paid him his visit after breakfast, when he was fresh and fed. But no. He was dragged out of his office after a long day dealing with the politics that came with rebuilding a society.

To distract himself from his situation, he concentrated on the task at hand. Garak needed to get to the Major's quarters so that he could have a private conversation with her about sabotaging Terok Nor in order to replace it with the more favorable DS9. After all this was not the kind of thing to discuss over a meal at the replimat. He couldn't imagine how well Major Kira would respond to his sudden and unannounced appearance in her quarters. They were not on the best of terms. However, Garak had more important things on his mind. On the top of the list is getting there in the first place..

Though he was grateful to have Rom's map of the Jeffries tube in hand, it wasn't that useful. Which would make sense of course because Jeffries tubes are used for the important internal maintenance of the station. And as it turned out, the workings of Major Kira's quarters aren't important enough to be integrated to the system.

He had to think of another way.

It wasn't entirely a set back, as Garak hunched, crawled and shuffled through the tubes he thought he'd get a head start on the sabotage of the station.

Garak had been many things in his time but he never enjoyed the role of a saboteur. He didn't like the imprecision of the job, almost the opposite to his skills as a torturer and assassin and incidentally, tailor.

So here he was crawling through the underbelly of Terok Nor tugging at exposed wires and rerouting relays as he went. He didn't have time to be entirely sure what he was doing but he knew it couldn't be good and that was enough.

He was on about the 50th rerouted relay when he struck upon his idea. He was letting his mind wonder back to internment camp 371 and he realised that he didn't need the Jefferies tubes to lead to the Major's quarters, only to the transporter room, which of course is a major part of the station and would need to be accessed by the Jeffries tubes.

He was surprised he didn't think about it before.

Though it had taken him an hour and a half to come up with the idea, the execution took comparatively, no time. All he had to do was to get to the Jeffries tube outside transporter room and use the control panel to transport him to the Major's quarters. The controls were a lot simpler on the station than on the meteor.

"Computer," he whispered.

"What is the occupancy of Major Kira's quarters?"

"There is one person in Major Kira's quarters." came a mechanical voice that reverberated around him.

"Who is it?"

"Major Kira."

"Good, can never be too sure." He said rerouting the last relay. "One last thing, computer what time is it?"

"Station time is 21:20."

 _Could be worse_ thought Garak.

"Computer energize."

* * *

It wasn't two seconds after arriving in the living area of the Major's quarters that she walked in from what looked to be her bathroom. He had never seen her out of uniform before, let alone a bath towel.

She looked quite shocked and very angry. _That he had seen before_ thought Garak.

"Garak! What are you doing in my quarters?" shouted Kira, jumping back into the bathroom.

"Nothing voyeuristic if that's what your thinking Major." Garak called through the door of the bathroom.

He waited a few moments for a response, then saw her reemerge with her uniform on.

"No that's not what I was thinking. I can show you if you don't tell me precisely what's going on, it involves me throwing you out an airlock." He noted the anger didn't subside with time.

"Now, now Major. A bit of patience never hurt anyone." Garak baited.

"I'm not in the mood for your games Garak."

"Ok, ok." He decided it would be best to get to the point before she started throwing things.

"I'm not sure if you know yet but Dukat is going to bring down the mind field that is currently preventing the Alpha Quadrant being slaves to the Dominion, within two days. I need your expertise to sabotage the ship's computer to buy time for the Defiant to get here. I've sent them a message but I'm not sure if they've received it. Either way they're going to know sooner or later."

"I've never heard Dukat say anything about this. How do I know you're not lying?" She asked suspicious of him as always.

"Honestly, Major why would I lie about this?"

"Because you're Garak and that's just what you do."

"Just because you and Dukat are getting a little too close, if you know what I mean, doesn't mean he's going to tell you all his tactical information."

That hit a nerve.

The Major pinned Garak to the wall with her arm against his throat and he got a sudden sense of déjà vu.

"How about I forget about throwing you out the airlock and just make it easy for myself and throw you out my quarters. I'm sure there are a number of Cardassians on the station that want a piece of you."

"Major, I really think you're losing sight of things."

He noted that it was difficult maintaining a patronising tone whilst his larynx was getting crushed.

Given the circumstance, Kira had no choice but to relent, although not before pushing a bit harder against his throat.

"Meet me outside the computer control room at 04:00 hours tomorrow."

With that she let go.

Garak massaged his neck when a thought came into mind.

"One last thing Major. Do not involve Ziyal. Do not let her know what we are planning here."

Kira was quite shocked, she had never seen him so serious. Even when he faced death he would come up with a sarcastic quip.

"What are you worried about?" she asked, confused. "Ziyal would never betray us to her father. In fact, she would probably even help us." Kira chuckled.

"That _is_ what I'm worried about. She is young Major, she shouldn't be involved in this."

"I think you underestimate Ziyal Garak. You may think she's young and naive but I know she's strong and determined. She can take care of herself."

"Nevertheless please, this is all I ask of you."

"That and a terrorist attack." She said wryly.

"Please Major," Garak scoffed. "You don't need me to ask you to fight the losing side. Always making sure the underdogs win."

"Fine I won't tell Ziyal. But this is for her benefit not yours." She didn't want him to start thinking she was available to do any favours for him.

"I wouldn't think otherwise."

"You know it's ironic, she's the reason I haven't killed you yet. I don't think she'd forgive me even though you keep secrets from her."

"I thought we agreed it was for her best interest Major."

"This wasn't one of the secrets I was referring to." she said inquiringly.

"If she knew every sordid detail of my past, she will think I'm a monster."

Kira noticed how much that idea seemed to pain him. She continued to get a reaction out of him.

"Good, you should tell her so that she'll stay away."

"I couldn't do that, her life is turbulent enough as it is."

"If you want to protect her so much you should stay away from her."

"Don't you think I've tried. She wouldn't let me."

"I hardly doubt that. You're obviously not trying hard enough."

Kira sensed she was getting closer to a real response.

"I can't help that she's in love with me Major."

"For what reason I'll never know." she said dismissively.

"And neither will I!" Garak unintentionally shouted.

The tension in the air was thick.

Kira had to know.

"Do you love her Garak?" she asked calmly.

"I care about her...enough." choosing his words carefully.

"How romantic." she snorted.

"I thought as much."

"Don't hurt her Garak. I swear if you do anything-"

"You can say many things about me but never, never suggest that I would hurt Ziyal." He said with the same intensity as before.

Seeing the resolution on his face Kira couldn't help but believe him for the first time.

"Why do you hate me so much Major? After all I am on your side."

Kira gave a huff a breath she thought they had called some truce but evidently Garak wanted round 2 of their verbal spar.

"I don't know, maybe because you're a trained liar and if you can turn your back on your own people why can't you betray us."

"I never betrayed my people. You don't know what I've sacrificed for Cardassia."

"Then why are you on our side in the first place. Why aren't you with the Dominion?"

"Because Dukat is betraying Cardassia by being in an alliance with the Dominion. Because the day Dukat made an alliance with those egotistical shapeshifters was the day that marked the beginning of Cardassia's downfall." He looked her straight into her eyes, "I don't know about you Major but I despise the Dominion."

"Well we can at least agree on something."

At that moment the doorbell chirped.

"You should hide."

Garak didn't need telling twice. The Major ushered him into the bathroom which was still steaming from her shower.

"Come in." She called.

Before Garak arrived, uninvited to her quarters, she would have never expected that tonight her quarters would house the 2 Cardassians she despised the most in the quadrant. Now it seemed inevitable.

Her life was never uninteresting.

"Major." Came Dukat's purring voice.

"What do you want Dukat?" Kira spat, already annoyed at his presence.

"It's not what I want Major, I'm here with concerns of my station's safety."

"As far as I'm concerned, this isn't your station Dukat."

"As far as your concerned Major, my concerns _are_ your concerns so long as you want to uphold the Dominion's peace treaty with Bajor." He boomed.

Kira needed a reminder of why she puts up with him but she didn't necessarily want one.

"Fine, Dukat. What does the station want?" Kira asked politely.

Dukat smiled to himself, knowing he won a small battle.

"The station wants to know why it's malfunctioning for no reason."

"I think I know the reason, I'm surprised you hadn't seen it sooner. Your men are obviously incompetent."

Dukat chuckled without any sense of mirth.

"That may be so but the pattern of the malfunctions suggests sabotage. I wonder if you have any idea about it." Kira didn't like his accusatory tone.

"Me, involved in sabotage? Against you?" Exaggerated Kira. "You know that does sound familiar but not this time. After all I have the Bajoran peace treaty to uphold. You're going to have to find your saboteur somewhere else. I'm sure it won't be difficult finding people who hate you."

"I didn't come here to be insulted."

This time Kira smiled to herself. _Dukat is so easily wound up_ she thought.

"Then you shouldn't have come here at all. Good night Dukat and have fun finding your culprit."

Dukat opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again. He was getting nowhere.

"I'll leave you now then Major."

"Good, I have nothing to hide."

"I'm glad you said that. You wouldn't mind if I station two Jem'Hadar outside your door."

The Major swallowed invisibly.

"I'll be glad for the company." She said, hoping that she didn't give anything away.

Dukat exited her quarters and just as the doors closed again, Kira saw two armed Jem'Hadar come into view. She turned around pinching her nose and scrunching up her eyes. When she finally opened them she saw Garak appear in front of her.

"Well, well. What shall we do now?" he asked pleasantly.

 **Please review :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for taking so long. Bear in mind no matter how long I take, I will still update. :)**

 _"Well well what do we do now?"_

Kira walked past Garak and stopped when she got to the replicator.

"I'll tell you what we're going to do, you're going to help me make the bomb-"

"The guards?"

"-and tackle our problems one step at a time."

Garak opened his mouth as if to respond but closed it again.

"Well are you just going to stand there or are you going to help me?"

Garak smiled.

"Seeing as you've given me the choice...I think I'll choose the latter."

For the next two hours they worked on their creation. The Major barked orders and Garak had no choice but to comply from handing her tools to replicating materials and raktajino. Kira had not yet left her desk as she was determined not to leave until it was complete.

After the third cup, the Major had a suspicious grin on her face. It was suspicious to Garak, it could also have just been the caffeine.

"Something amusing you about our situation Major?"

She shook her head, grin still in place.

"It's nothing it's just that..."

"Yes?"

"I just thought how funny it is that the great mystery that was _Garak the Tailor_ is now, you know, bringing me coffee and snacks. It's a silly thing to laugh at, I know."

"To be honest Major, playing the role of you're secretary is not what I was expecting on return to DS9." Garak replied dryly. "I'm afraid I'm at a loss as to how I can be helpful."

Kira stopped smiling. It was something to do with Garak's tone. It wasn't a sardonic comment she usually expected. And that unnerved her.

"You know what would be helpful. If you got some rest before tomorrow."

"I don't need rest."

"Well it's up to you but I have everything I need for now and you look like hell."

"I'll try not to sound offended, shall I?" He paused a moment. "But I take your point Major."

Garak eased himself into the closest chair and began to fall asleep quicker than he expected.  
Had it only been one day? Was his last thought before he unwittingly drifted off.

"Hello?"

Garak wasn't sure who he was addressing, he supposed he was talking to anyone that was listening. Garak was in the Majors quarters one minute, but now he was standing here. Surrounded by...nothing.

"Anyone there?"

He began to walk around but nothing started as nothing. It felt surreal how could this be possible, how can there be nothing?

"Q?" Garak tried, preparing himself for a sudden appearance. But it didn't come.

He continued to wander aimlessly, hoping to find some sort of clue. Until he heard a noise.

He moved towards the direction of the noise and it grew louder. Further still he could hear it even louder and more clearly. It was cheering.

He arrived at the source of the noise, it was massive crowd. The appearance was a stark constrast to the blank whiteness he was walking around in. To his surprise members of the crowd came up to him, shaking his hands, clapping him on the back and congratulating him, thanking him.

They were a peculiar mix of Bajorans and Cardassians.

One familiar voice rang particularly clear.  
"Bravo, bravo. _Great_ effort."

A figure walked towards him, making a grand entrance. The crowd parted and bowed as he approached him.

The noise of the crowd died down when Q stood in front of Garak. He gave a slow clap and he had a mischievous grin plastered on. He was dressed, quite fittingly in Bajoran uniform, and he even completed the look with nose ridges and an earring.

Garak was getting used to dealing with this particular visitor, he replied without skipping a beat.

"Ah Q what a coincidence. I didn't know _you_ would be here too."

"I don't think I care for your sarcasm Cardassian. Mortals are always most annoying when they're sarcastic, they think it makes them sound clever. It doesn't. But since you brought it up, I'm here, because I wouldn't want to miss this."  
He gestured at the cheering crowd.

"This being a..."

"What does it look like? What does it sound like? A celebration of course! And, above all, in your honor."

"Oh, I see." Garak said as if he were foolish to miss something so obvious. "You'd excuse me for not recognising it straight away. Not many people could say they wanted to celebrate with me. In fact, I always prided myself on the fact that people often celebrate in spite of me."

"I'm not surprised. You're not the most fun person to be around. It's not your fault, though, you didn't choose to be born to a race of the poopiest of party-poopers. Although, I know of at least one person who thinks differently..."

"Garak!"

Another voice came ringing through the crowd. It was one so familiar and so surreal. He never thought he'd hear it again.

"Ziyal." he breathed.

The figure of Ziyal burst through the crowd and ran to wrap her arms tightly around Garak. He involuntary closed his eyes at the sensation and resisted the urge to hug her back. Instead he kept his arms to his side, ramrod straight as he used to.

She pulled back, hands on still around his neck.

"Did you miss me?"

Garak opened his eyes to meet her smiling ones. They were the same as he remembered and the same as the ones he had pictured all this time.

"More than I care to admit."

She gave a wide smile at his response.

"I'm so glad you're here. I have to thank you for saving me."

"For saving you..."

Garak looked towards Q for clarity.

"Oh don't be modest Garak, it doesn't suit a Cardassian. What do you think this celebratiyon is for? You saved the girl and you saved the quadrant. And for once it isn't Sisko who gets the credit."

"Q, you must be mistaken-"

"We've been through this. Q don't make mistakes."

"Even so, I have yet to make any impact on the War yet. This celebration as you put it, is premature."

"I know, I know I just wanted to show you the best possible know something to really aim towards. It's better than showing you the most probable outcome."

"The most probable outcome?"

Ziyal put a hand to his cheek to turn his face towards hers again.

"I think it's best we didn't find out."

"Nonsense girl, if he wants to know, who are we to stand his way."

Q clicked his fingers. Everything changed.

The blank whiteness turned dark. The crowd became deafening but instead of cheers there were yelling and screaming. Jem'Hadar had appeared from nowhere and started aiming their weapons towards anything that moved.

Garak reached for Ziyal's hand, ready to flee but when he tugged, there was no response. He looked at her and saw blood drip from her mouth, the vitality of her eyes diminished. He looked down to see a that she was clutching her chest, behind her hand was a singed hole in her dress.

She began to collapse and he along with her. His knees buckled at the sight of her lifeless body. He knew none of this was real but he needed more convincing. The last thing he saw was a Jem'Hadar soldier above him. Disruptor raised and then a flash of light.

***  
It took another hour but the Major had finally finished. She got from her chair and stretched. She face a loud yawn and moved to the replicator. She decided she should reward herself with another cup of raktajino. She downed the mug in what felt like record time then decided to wake up her companion.

"Garak?" the Major said. She was knelt down at his side and was gently shaking the arm he was propping his head up with. His eyelids flickered.

"Garak, get up." the Major said with more force.

Suddenly, his eyes were wide open and his hand grasped tightly around the Major's wrist.

"Ow, let go. What are you doing?"

The Major felt his grip loosen slightly. Garak was cold with sweat and his was breathing as though he had just ran a marathon.

"Garak? Are you ok?"

Garak looked straight at the Major and recognition came across his features. He took a moment before responding.

"I'm fine Major." he managed.

"You don't look-"

"I take it you're finished with the bomb?" Garak interrupted.

Kira have Garak another look. She wanted to say something but she took the hint.

It's not like asking will help she thought to herself.

"Yes, it's done." Kira replied.

Garak got up and moved to the desk to have a inspected the Major's handiwork. Kira followed closely behind.

The bomb was sat right in the middle of her desk. It bomb was small and rectangular, with red wiring criss-crossed over a timer on it's front. It was surrounded by clutter and tools that the Major had yet to clear away.

"It's not much to look at, but I assure you it packs a punch."

Garak turned to smile at her.  
"I have no doubt Major."

"Speaking of which I was thinking about the guards when I was making this."

"Have you come up with a solution?"

"It's not a solution as such but a compromise. Those Jem'Hadar aren't going to stay outside my door forever. In fact I'm pretty sure Dukat would have ordered them to follow me around until the minefield is down. I'll leave for duty early tomorrow so you can sneak out before there are too many people around. You're going to have to get to the computer core yourself."

"I think I'll be fine Major, I was an agent of the Obsidian order after all. During my time, nobody noticed me, unless I wanted them to of course ." he said confidently.

"Don't be so sure."

"I think we can't afford not to be."

Kira raised an eyebrow.

"You know, I think you're right."

"Have a good day Major."

Garak saw Kira to the door. She was dressed in her usual Bajoran uniform but you could tell she had little sleep and a lot of caffeine. It was making her a little irritable.

"Don't stand too close, Garak." she snapped.

He took a few steps from the door.  
"I know Major. Relax."

Kira took a breath and walked out her quarters.

She plastered on a grin and addressed the two guards. As expected they were still there from late last night.

"Are you gentlemen with me?"

The Jem'Hadar didn't respond but from Garak's limited field of vision he saw them follow the Major's red uniform.

Garak grabbed the rucksack that he had placed their improvised bomb in and followed the Major shortly after.  
He didn't want to lose anytime. The more time that went past, the more busy the station would get.

Garak moved quickly through the corridors of the habitat ring being careful to look both behind him and around corners before entering any junctions. He planned the quickest and most feasible route ahead. The problem was that every scenario he imagined included a turbolift and a short stay on the Promenade. Which he tried not to think about.

He didn't pause when he got to the Promenade nor turn his head, he crossed it at right angles straight into the turbolift. From what he could tell the Promenade was empty.

At least that was what he thought until the Jem'Hadar walked in.

Thankfully he was unarmed.

"Level 2!" The soldier barked at the lift.

Garak kept his head straight and remained nonchalant.

"Level 1."

The Jem'Hadar wrinkled his nose at this. And eyed over Garak paying particular attention to the rucksack.

"Why are you going to level 1?" he asked with the same tone as before. _Jem'Hadar don't have volume control it seems_ thought Garak.

"I go where I'm told. Should I question the Founders?"

"Of course not."

"You've appeared to have answered you're own question."

There was a brief pause but the Jem'Hadar wasn't letting go.

"How come I don't recognize you?"

 _My, my this Jem'Hadar is chatty._

"I don't blame you if that's what you're worried about. I don't have many defining features."

"You talk too much."

"Yes, so I've heard. I must point out though, you were the one who started asking me questions. I would've been quite content to ride this lift in silence."

The Jem'Hadar gave a grunt in response. Seemingly defeated, he left in silence when he got to level 2. Garak on the other hand let out a breath.

On arrival on the designated, left the lift and navigated through a few corners before being confronted by the sight of two Jem'Hadar soldiers standing guard to what was undoubtedly the entrance to the computer core. They _were_ armed.

Before he even had time to think, they turned to him. The closer one of the two approached him.

"You. What are you doing here?"

"I'm not sure, I appear to be lost."

"I don't believe you."

"All I ask is that you point me to the nearest turbolift." Garak replied. Thinking on his feet was his specialty. "I'm in a little hurry, Gul Dukat expressly said he needed this straight away." Garak patted his rucksack for emphasis.

The soldier took a moment to make a choice.

"This way. I'm escorting you." The Jem'Hadar roughly grabbed his shoulder to steer him in the direction he came in.

They walked a few paces before rounding the corner. When he was sure the soldier's guard was let down, Garak quickly reached out and forcefully yanked the tube of Ketracel white out of his companion's neck.

The Jem'Hadar's body jerked in an effort to fire his weapon at his assailant. A disruptor beam burned a hole in the wall, narrowly missing Garak's arm. Garak grabbed the weapon away from the Jem'Hadar as he thrashed on the floor clutching his neck.

The noise from the fired weapon alerted the other guard but Garak was ready for him. As soon as he rounded the corner he fired point blank at his chest.

Not bothering to stop he ran to the computer core. A large blue light illuminated the room from the glowing core. When he arrived, he set the disruptor rifle and rucksack on the ground. He pulled the bomb out of his rucksack, and set two minutes on the timer. He made sure he saw the neon lights blinking back at him.

He swiftly grabbed his rifle and rushed towards the sliding doors of the entrance. He was ready to rush through them until he was stopped...

"Drop your weapon." Came a familiar voice and he complied reluctantly. "I told you it would be that _despicable_ tailor."

Garak was stopped by the presence of a smug looking Dukat. He looked as though he won some sort of grand prize. He accompanied by Weyoun, although he couldn't remember which number they were on. Garak mused on whether it was the one he killed.

Behind them was a Jem'Hadar, he couldn't be sure but he suspected it was the one accompanying him in the lift.

"I'm glad you find this amusing Dukat, but I really don't care who it is." He turned towards the Jem'Hadar. "Kill him."

The Jem'Hadar raised his weapon and Garak entire body tensed. I've failed was his last thought before...

"Hold on a second Weyoun." It was Dukat. He placed his hand over the Jem'Hadar's weapon to lower it slightly. Garak eased, only a little.

"Let's not be hasty, he may know things. Things that would give us a tactical advantage. I'd happily prise that knowledge out of him."

"I have no interest in some sort of petty vendetta Dukat. The Founder told me to find the saboteur and deal with him, that's what I plan to do."

"Yes and we've found him and I'll deal with him. Look, he couldn't have got here alone, he may have accomplices."

Garak was fed up of watching the sparring match between his two captors.

"Have you two finished bickering? I'm starting to wonder if I could sneak away without you knowing."

"Fine, take him." Relented Weyoun.

They made their way back to the turbolift, Weyoun at front and the soldier keeping an eye on their new prisoner. Dukat whispered in Garak's ear.

"I'm going to enjoy torturing you tailor. When I'm done with you, you're going to wish Weyoun got his way."

"Is this still about your father? You really need to move on Dukat, it's not good for your health." Garak saw his jaw clench at the mention of his father. "You wouldn't have wanted to know him, he was a disgrace to Cardassia."

That did it.

Dukat grabbed the soldier's disruptor rifle and used the butt to hit him in forehead. Before Garak knew it, he had hit the ground. He looked up to see Dukat standing over him, fury in his eyes.

Just before he lost consciousness, he heard it. He felt it.

The bomb.

 **Thanks for reading :)**

 **Real Ziyal in next chapter, I promise!**


	7. Chapter 7

"Yes, I'm starting to understand now…I can't believe that I have lived so long without the link. To think I spent all these years trying to fit in as a solid. Such wasted years."

They were alone in their quarters. He didn't know how long it had been and he didn't care, all he knew was he craved the link and nothing else mattered anymore. They were sitting on the bed hands joined together into one pearlescent liquid.

"My dear Odo, don't think about the past any more. No more regrets. You'll never need to be alone again, you have a place now with me, with the Great Link."

Odo looked down at their hands and let himself give into the changeling before him. The liquid traveled up their arms then their torso. Odo's was filled with ecstacy when the station shook.

The interruption broke their concentration and with it their link.

"What was that?"

"Ignore it."

"I can't Odo." She said, standing up. "Stay here and I'll sort this out."

"You mean you're leaving? But...I-"

"I'll be back soon."

She let her hand rest on his shoulder before she hurried out of his quarters. When she left Odo, her pleasant expression changed. She did not like being interrupted.

* * *

She found him in ops busying away. She had never seen the place so busy before, Cardassians running around between the loose cables of consoles that had been forcefully pryed open. No doubt they were trying to fix the problem before she could even find out what the problem was.

Weyoun's face paled when he caught sight of his God.

"Weyoun! What is the meaning of this?"

The Vorta immediately turned to greet the Founder with arms out and palms up. He couldn't bare making eye contact. He kept his head bowed low as he spoke.

"Forgive me Founder, but..." Weyoun took in a lungful of air before he was brave enough to give the news. "The station's computer has been attacked."

She kept calm, which only served to unnerve Weyoun more.

"How bad is the damage?"

"Not bad." He replied, still avoiding her gaze. "The main systems are safeguarded but deactivating the mind field will take more time. I have diverted all resources to fixing the anti-graviton beam so we can take down the field as soon as possible."

"Have you now. Do you want me to thank you? You know Weyoun I didn't have to place you in charge. I thought I could trust you and I don't know why you would betray me like this."

Weyoun's face drained of the little color he had left. He began to quiver.

"No p-please, Founder. You can trust me."

"Really? As I see it, the evidence suggests the contrary. Tell me, was the perpetrator the one who has been causing all the malfunctions across the station?"

"Yes, Founder. Elim Garak, an ex-agent for the Obsidian Order now working for Starfleet."

"You see I thought I told you to take care of him and now I find out he's done even more damage. Do you enjoy disobeying my orders?"

"No. Never. I would never disobey a Founder...He is in custody now with Dukat."

"A little late isn't it?" She sighed, there wasn't much she could do. "Elim Garak...we don't need him alive do we?"

"I didn't think so but Dukat seems to think that he may not have been working alone. He's trying to get that information as we speak."

She thought about his words before she replied.

"Better still, get Dukat to convince our prisoner to join the Dominion. His skills and knowledge about Starfleet may be useful. He shouldn't be difficult to convince-I suspect he is misguided. He is only a Cardassian after all."

"As you wish."

* * *

Garak's body felt heavy. He tried to move as little as possible. Every now and then he adjusted his position to lessen the pressure he was placing on his broken ribs.

He was allowed to rest a while, lying on the cold floor as Dukat was called outside by Weyoun. He wasn't sure where he was in the station. Holding cells were normally 3-sided rooms with the fourth as a forcefield. They even provided a bench to sleep on.

He, on the other hand, found himself in a box room. It was small, walls painted light grey and absolutely nothing save for a control panel next to the door that was currently preventing his freedom.

Ordinarily, his sense of claustrophobia would be overwhelming him but at the moment it seemed insignificant to his new fear.

He lifted his hand to trace a small scar just below his collarbone. He wasn't sure when it happened, sometime during his last blackout he suspected, but Dukat managed to get his hands on a torture device and sewn it deep into his chest. The irony wasn't lost on him that his very own invention was going to be used against him.

So far he had been able to resist betraying the Major. Apart from a few broken ribs, Dukat had done little to break down his defenses. Although, he wasn't sure why he was eager to keep their collaboration a secret, as it did little to serve his purpose. He wanted to think it was because he didn't want to give Dukat the satisfaction of thinking that he had won. But years of having Ziyal as his conscience made him a better person.

He broke out his reverie when the new familiar beeping sound reverberated around the room. His hand sprung back to its original position, cradling his head as he slept.

* * *

"What do you want Weyoun?" snarled Dukat. He was enjoying his session with Garak. He had yet to gain any information but he gained all the satisfaction he needed, seeing him broken, squirming and at his mercy. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Evidently."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm saying that it has been hours and you haven't been able to get him to admit to…well anything."

"These things take time."

"I understand that, but it does seem to me that you're in no rush."

"Perhaps I would be more successful without interruptions such as these. Now if you have else to say, why don't you crawl back to your precious shapeshifter."

"The Founder" he emphasised. "wants you to convince our prisoner to join the Dominion."

"What?! You must be joking! She wants that _fool_ working for her?"

"The Founder feels his skills and knowledge may be useful to us."

"Ha." He barked.

"Whether you believe it or not, all that matters is that the Founder thinks he will be useful."

Dukat was shaking his head in disbelief.

"Remember Dukat, you are the leader of the Cardassian people. What could be more satisfying than seeing one's enemy doing one's bidding."

* * *

"Garak. Wake up!"

Garak didn't credit his voice with a response.

"I know you can hear me, there's no use pretending you can't."

Still no response

"Perhaps, I can do something to help you wake up."

Knowing his habits already, Garak tensed his stomach. Seconds later, Dukat kicked him with great force. His body writhed in response to the impact as all the air was forced from his lungs.

Dukat watched as he gasped for air. It took him several minutes to get air back into his system. Each breath sent sharp pain to his chest. He finally managed to reply, between breaths, to his captor.

"I'm trying...to sleep...Dukat...you're making that...very difficult."

Dukat walked over to him and crouched next to him.

"Look at you Garak, you're pathetic." Dukat whispered into his ear. "You're a mess and what for? -the Federation? They don't care about you."

He stood up again and walked around. He donned the voice that he used to win the heart of the Cardassian people.

"You know they're afraid of Cardassia. Always have been. They are afraid of the greatness she can achieve. She deserves no more than the Alpha Quadrant. And we're the ones that can give it to her. We've always fought on separate sides but don't you see- don't you see how great we can be. You should be fighting by my side, on the side of Cardassia."

Garak had let Dukat go on until he got his voice back. "Great speech. Only one problem though. If you were on the side of Cardassia, you wouldn't be working for the Dominion."

Dukat chuckled.

"I know deep down you care about Cardassia, even though you don't always show it. I'll let you in on a little secret...The Dominion are just a means to an end. Signing a treaty with Dominion changed everything. We're strong now and the price to pay is small if you consider the prize. The entire Alpha Quadrant. Once we're in power, of course, we'll get rid of the Founders."

It was Garak's turn to laugh though it sounded more like a cough.

"How? Send in the Borg? Then what?"

"You have so little faith in our people, it makes me sad. We'll find a way."

"Sounds like a great plan."

"You dare mock me." Dukat's patience was beginning to run thin.

"I don't need to, those shapeshifters do it for me. Cardassians don't see you as a leader they see you as a lapdog serving it's master. The second they don't need you they'll kill you. You, me, anyone they haven't genetically engineered to meet with their expectations."

"That's not true. We have a contract."

"A contract! You _do_ have a sense of humor. Do you think they'll care about a piece of paper or a kind word between friends? You'll be begging at their feet _pleading_ them to spare you."

"You didn't see what I saw Garak. Our people on the streets, no place to go. Starving. If you did, you'd understand."

He did understand and that was the point.

"...and they won't just come for you. Think about what they'll do to Ziyal."

"Enough!"

Suddenly, Garak's entire body convulsed uncontrollably. Garak gritted his teeth to stop himself crying out and he clenched his hands until he could feel his nails dig into the bones in his hands. All his pain receptors were being flooded with electricity. His mind began to cloud and his vision darkened as he felt himself slip into unconsciousness.

* * *

She had to find Garak. It seemed that their plan worked but she wasworried she expected to have heard from him by now. He must have been found and either he was killed or taken into custody. For her conscience she decided to believe in the latter.

Ordinarily, it would only require seconds to find him. The computer could scan all the lifeforms on the station and all the Major would have to do is pick out the anomaly. However, only main systems were running and all manpower was diverted to fixing the part needed to deactivate the mines.

Her only choice was to fix the internal sensors. The process had taken her hours, so she had to assume that Garak was in no immediate danger.

She looked around her console in ops. The room was dimmer than usual. There were lots of Cardassians running around here and there trying to fix systems as fast as possible. It served as good distraction, they were too busy to see what she was up to. She had just run the diagnostics on the internal scanners for what felt like the twentieth time and thankfully they came back positive.

First, she scanned for all Cardassian life forms. A thousand tiny white dots popped up onto the map on her console. Narrowing her search to those Cardassians without identification from the computer caused the white dots to quickly blink out of existence, leaving 20 or so dots left. The one that caught her eye was the one in the top left corner of the map in one of the inhabited sections of the station.

"What are you doing here Major?" Came a voice behind her.

Kira's reflexes kicked in. She cleared her search data with a tap on her console and quickly turned around to face Weyoun, hiding the console with her body.

"I work here remember, is there a problem?"

"That depends…" Weyoun leaned towards the console only to be stopped with an innocent looking Major who moved to block his view. "As of this morning you have no duties here which makes me wonder what you were doing on your console that was so interesting."

"If you're going to accuse me of something I would rather you spit it out now otherwise I'm leaving."

"I wasn't accusing you Major-"

"Good."

She made an abrupt exit. When she got into the turbolift she was able to exhale.

* * *

Ziyal was in her quarters listening to Delem's fourth Symphony. It was one of her favourites. She never enjoyed Cardassian music, she found that it lacked the passion and complexity of the Bajoran equivalent. It wasn't until Garak introduced her to Delem that she really began to listen. It seemed a shame to her that Delem had never been appreciated in the Cardassian culture often deemed as too "radical" by critics.

She had just finished a new painting, the colours were vibrant and the flowers were lifelike but there was something not quite right with it. She had planned on sending a piece to the Cardassian council of art under an assumed name. Ziyal was proud to be known as Dukat's daughter but she didn't want the council to be influenced by her father's name. Art could be so subjective and she wanted a real opinion, one that she suspected neither her father nor Kira would give.

She had been staring at it for sometime but she couldn't figure out what it needed. Did it need something more or something less?

"Computer stop recording."

The lilting sounds of the Cardassian string section stopped. She hoped that it was the distraction that was holding her back but she was still as lost as before. On a whim, she grabbed the piece of paper and scrunched it up. She knew she could do better. She walked to the replicator to recycle it when the door beeped.

"Come in."

It was Kira. She walked right in and spoke quickly.

"I need your help."

"You know that whatever it is I'm happy to help."

"There is no way to put this delicately but Garak's here on the station."

"Really? That's great!"

Ziyal's initial reaction turned to worry.

"But it's dangerous for him to be here now. I thought he was on the Defiant."

"I thought so too but he's somehow made it onto the station and has planned some kind of one man assault on the Dominion."

"What do you mean?"

"For one thing he shows up in the middle of the night and tells me to build him a bomb."

"That's what the shaking was. No one would tell me."

"It seems his plan was a success and hopefully he bought enough time for the Defiant to get here."

"Where is he?"

"That's the thing, he hasn't been in touch since. I suspect your father had him in custody."

Hearing this, Ziyal automatically went to the door.

"Ziyal, where are you going?"

"I have to find my father and tell him to let Garak go."

"No, you can't do that."

"He'll listen to me. I can help."

"I know but not like that. If you confront Dukat now he'll deny any knowledge of Garak on the station. He might move him or get one of his men to kill him and pretend he had no idea."

"He wouldn't do that."

"Maybe not…but we can't risk it."

"Well what do we do? We have to do something."

"We have to find him first so your father can't deny his knowledge of his presence."

"Where?"

"I have an idea. Come with me."

* * *

"I've never been here before."

"I think that's the point."

"It's so…empty."

The place hadn't really been touched since the Cardassian occupation. Kira knew of Bajorans who were sent here for solitary confinement. People were taken and nothing was seen of them for months on end. When they finally returned they had become shells of what they once were, without passion, without life. They just did what they were told for there was nothing was left of them to fight back.

The station has never been busy enough to need the extra space and no one wanted to visit. Kira had been curious to visit but she always held back. In this case, there were extenuating circumstances.

The Major was glad to note that the room at the end of the corridor stood out from the rest. For one thing the control panel was illuminated, for the other it was the one she was looking for.

"It's this one."

Ziyal just nodded her head, letting Kira take the lead. Kira unholstered her phaser and fired it directly at the control panel. The panel crackled with electricity and the front burst from the wall. The door compliantly slided open to reveal the man they were looking for.

Ziyal was shocked. She had never seen Garak vulnerable before. He always projected onto her the impression that he was untouchable and that facade shattered instantly when they caught sight of his body curled up on the floor.

The momentary shock, however soon turned to concern.

She ran to his side before Kira could even respond and knelt beside him. Now she was closer she could better examine the bruises and cuts on his skin. A lump formed in her throat but she swallowed it instantly.

"Garak...Garak it's Ziyal. We've come to help you.

She placed a tentative hand on his cheek.

Garak stirred at her touch.

"Garak..."

His eyes opened and immediate squinted at the light hitting his retinas.

"Zi-yal?"

"Yes it's me."

"I-I can't move."

 **I wonder if any of you are wondering what happens if Garak meets his present self. Or if there just one Garak now. I've only just figured it out and I feel quite excited. Stay tuned! and r &r please. Makes me happy when you do.**


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